Daniel Kemph
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Daniel Kemph (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Kentucky's 6th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on June 23, 2020.
Kemph completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Daniel Kemph was born in Orange County, California. He graduated from Melodyland Christian High School. He attended California State University, Fullerton. Kemph's career experience includes working as a software development lifecycle project manager and team lead, and as a software quality assurance analyst and team lead.[1][2][3]
Elections
2020
See also: Kentucky's 6th Congressional District election, 2020
Kentucky's 6th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 23 Republican primary)
Kentucky's 6th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 23 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Kentucky District 6
Incumbent Andy Barr defeated Josh Hicks and Frank Harris in the general election for U.S. House Kentucky District 6 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Andy Barr (R) | 57.3 | 216,948 |
 | Josh Hicks (D)  | 41.0 | 155,011 | |
 | Frank Harris (L) | 1.7 | 6,491 | |
| Total votes: 378,450 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6
Josh Hicks defeated Daniel Kemph in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6 on June 23, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Josh Hicks | 72.4 | 81,305 |
 | Daniel Kemph | 27.6 | 31,064 | |
| Total votes: 112,369 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6
Incumbent Andy Barr defeated Chuck Eddy and Geoff M. Young in the Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6 on June 23, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Andy Barr | 90.7 | 62,706 |
 | Chuck Eddy | 5.3 | 3,636 | |
 | Geoff M. Young | 4.0 | 2,765 | |
| Total votes: 69,107 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Libertarian convention
Libertarian convention for U.S. House Kentucky District 6
Frank Harris advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Kentucky District 6 on March 7, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Frank Harris (L) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
To view Kemph's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.
2018
General election
General election for U.S. House Kentucky District 6
Incumbent Andy Barr defeated Amy McGrath, Frank Harris, Rikka Wallin, and James Germalic in the general election for U.S. House Kentucky District 6 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Andy Barr (R) | 51.0 | 154,468 |
 | Amy McGrath (D) | 47.8 | 144,736 | |
| Frank Harris (L) | 0.7 | 2,150 | |
 | Rikka Wallin (Independent) | 0.3 | 1,011 | |
| James Germalic (Independent) | 0.2 | 523 | ||
| Total votes: 302,888 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Mikel Bradley (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Amy McGrath | 48.7 | 48,860 |
 | Jim Gray | 40.5 | 40,684 | |
 | Reggie Thomas | 7.2 | 7,226 | |
| Geoff M. Young | 1.6 | 1,574 | |
| Daniel Kemph | 1.2 | 1,240 | |
| Theodore Green | 0.8 | 835 | ||
| Total votes: 100,419 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6
Incumbent Andy Barr defeated Chuck Eddy in the Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Andy Barr | 83.8 | 40,514 |
| Chuck Eddy | 16.2 | 7,858 | |
| Total votes: 48,372 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Daniel Kemph completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kemph's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
I'm running for one reason. To help the families of the Bluegrass. I'll work on three priorities in Congress: health care, jobs and education. These are the issues that I am passionate about.
I will fight for a better deal for Kentuckians for quality health care, create opportunities for meaningful work locally so our children and grandchildren can stay close to home, and work with teachers and students to fully fund public education. I do not approve of how we're being represented by Andy Barr. Our Democracy is sacred, we need leaders who will fight for truth and to protect our constitution. I'll get the job done for the Bluegrass.
- Healthcare; Medicare for all
- 21st century jobs by making broadband internet a public utility
- Fully funding public education
Quality, affordable healthcare, 21st century economy that is available to all who want it, and fully funding public education.
I look up to my father. He wasn't blessed with great skill but he had great determination and an unfailing work ethic. I wish he was still with us today, I think he would be proud of me.
The Art of the Impossible by Vaclav Havel is my contemporary political inspiration.
The characteristics most important for an elected official are compassion, empathy, and strength. Not everybody has walked in the same shoes but it is up to our elected officials to acknowledge that and see the world through the eyes of the people they are supposed to represent.
Empathy and authenticity.
The core responsibility for anyone elected to any office is to make decisions and take actions that are best for the people for a better tomorrow. Even if that means losing their office today. The courage of leadership is absolutely critical from our representatives.
The legacy that I would like to be known for is being instrumental people gaining access to a public option for healthcare, that broadband internet became a household utility with my help and that mine was the deciding vote to legalize marijuana.
The first historical event I remember happening was the resignation of Richard Nixon. The date happened to coincide with my father's birthday and I became far more aware of the world than just my house and school.
I was a paper boy, back when the newspapers was delivered to your house. I eventually grew that into three routes then became a section leader. Delivering the paper was fun, doing the collections wasn't.
My favorite book is the next one I read. I've read so many books for so many different reasons covering so many different topics that to pick out one is very difficult. Rather, I look forward to the next one I read. Currently, that is "2041". It's a book about the world after the oceans have risen and about how humans are adapting. It's a little bit disturbing.
I think it would be fun to be James Bond; saving the world, saving the girl, driving a cool car, all the while drinking dry martinis.
Street Fighting Man, The Rolling Stones (Beggar's Banquet)
Running for public office and having to call up people and ask for money. I am not one to ask for help for anything let alone somebody else's hard earned money. It is somewhat comforting to know that it's not for me but to support the policy, to bring quality affordable healthcare to the people of Kentucky or to fully fund public education. But still, having to ask for money isn't easy.
Redistricting is necessary and required by our constitution. How redistricting is executed is clearly a state's responsibility. The best way for redistricting to be fair and balanced is to have more people participate in government and the electoral process.
What is supposed to be unique about the U.S. House is that is responsive to the needs of society at large. The two year terms are intended to continually keep representatives active in their communities and engaging with constituents.
I do not believe that it is beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics. It is important that our representative government has people with real life experiences coming from within our communities to act on our behalf for the good of all. Having a diverse mix of representatives is beneficial to government's overall role.
Over the next decade the United States' greatest challenge will be the choice between people or corporations. All of our challenges; national debt, climate change, or even healthcare comes down to whether we value human life more than we value quarterly profits. We've lost all semblance of balance and nuance between the coexistence of both. Now, we will have to choose.
It would be best for the people of my district that I serve on the Agriculture and Natural Resources committees. Agriculture is the cornerstone of Kentucky's economy. Our rural communities must be given all due consideration for any policy initiatives. Policy that emanates from the Agricultural Committee must benefits us all.
Two years is the right term length for representatives because the House is intended to be more responsive tot he people's needs. That a representative must answer in an election every two years is healthy to our democracy.
I strongly support term limits. I would like to see a limit of ten terms (twenty years) in the House and four terms (twenty-four years) in the Senate. Institutional knowledge is a valuable asset. We must leverage that knowledge to our benefit. However, the world does change and a generational change to reflect the ever changing world would be more responsive and more forward thinking to the needs of the people. Today, we have representatives who graduated college in the 1970's. Our knowledge and experiences have increased greatly since. New ideas, new solutions, new ways of thinking about challenges are necessary to keep growing as a society.
I would be interested in a leadership role in the House. A committee chairperson or a whip role seems interesting to me. As I understand it, a leadership role allows for greater benefit to the people of my district. Anything that helps the people of central Kentucky, I'm all for.
Henry Clay
A single mother told me about how she escaped an abusive relationship and raised three kids on her own. The crushing poverty, the anxiety, and the pervasive feeling of being alone and overwhelmed. She wasn't complaining. She wasn't angry. She was just frustrated about why it was so damn hard. Especially when she reached out for help from government programs. She was clearly eligible to receive benefits, the exact kind of person these programs were designed for. But all the hoops and bureaucracy she had to endure made a difficult situation far worse than it needed to be. It was heartbreaking but inspirational. If she could go through what she was going through, I'm more than happy to take up that fight. Not to give her any special consideration, but just to make it easier. It just didn't need to be so damn hard.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Daniel Kemph participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on February 27, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Daniel Kemph's responses follow below.[4]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | 1) Processing constituents assistance requests; VA, SS, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. 2) Committee assignments most relevant to Kentuckians; Ag (horse farms), Mining, etc. |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | Equality and the environment are the public policies I am most passionate about. Our current government is working hard to institutionalize inequality whether it is economic, education, or healthcare. The imbalance among American classes is a genuine threat to America in the 21st century. The environment and subsequent climate change is a serious, serious threat to our economic stability. We must begin to act to abate CO2 emissions and to plan for mass environmental refugees.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[6]
|
” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Daniel Kemph answered the following:
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
| “ | I look up to my father. His example of day-in-day-out hard work ethic always inspires me. I may not always be the smartest person in the room, but I can certainly be the hardest working. I am grateful to my dad for teaching me that.[6] | ” |
| “ | The Art of the Impossible by Vaclav Havel[6] | ” |
| “ | Empathy. Every politician must absolutely be able to put themselves into another person's shoes. To see issues and challenges as others see them.[6] | ” |
| “ | Empathy. My innate ability to listen and clearly understand what someone is going through allows me to be an effective public servant.[6] | ” |
| “ | Firstly, to protect and defend the Constitution, as is the oath. But beyond that, to represent all the people within the district equally in a dignified, passionate manner. As a member of Congress it is my responsibility to enact laws that perpetuate fairness and to ensure that government governs responsibly and ethically.[6] | ” |
| “ | That responsible, honest, authentic Americans can be elected to higher office. To be an encouragement to others to get involved who had always thought about it but hesitate.[6] | ” |
| “ | Ronald Reagan firing all the air traffic controllers. I realized the anguish voters go through because we were a union family but supported President Reagan. The Republican objective of breaking up unions was against everything we understood but my family still supported him. It had a "woke" clarity for me.[6] | ” |
| “ | My first job was a paper route. I did it for about three years.[6] | ” |
| “ | She ordered a $50 steak, took two bites, asked for a doggy-bag then announced she was ready to go. I was a little distraught but finished my dinner anyway. She just sat there waiting for me to finish. Awkward.[6] | ” |
| “ | My favorite holiday is Christmas because I get to spend time with family.[6] | ” |
| “ | Pretty much anything written by Stephen King. His style of writing takes ordinary, plain people and puts them into extraordinary events. He makes his characters real in surreal scenarios.[6] | ” |
| “ | Poseidon, the god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses.[6] | ” |
| “ | My kitchen, because I enjoy cooking.[6] | ” |
| “ | Dirty Heads - Swim Team, "Vacation"[6] | ” |
| “ | My desire to go unnoticed, to be someone who is plain and unheard. For whatever reason people notice me and it's always been uncomfortable for me. It's why I'm running and not a precinct captain or campaign worker. Being the candidate is the best use of my God-given natural abilities.[6] | ” |
| “ | Its accessibility to the people and the responsibility to act as a check on power to the other two branches of government.[6] | ” |
| “ | No. While institutional knowledge regarding process is valuable, our politicians don't seem to come from "us" anymore. There seems to be a real disconnect from people and who is representing them. We need to get more real people who have had the same real challenges that the people have had in office. Our representatives have lost touch and we are worse off for it.[6] | ” |
| “ | Our national debt and climate change will define the American 21st century. How we deal with those two things will determine whether we succumb to corporate interests or the people.[6] | ” |
| “ | Agricultural for horse farms and distillation industries. Mining, banking and finance, and healthcare. The people of Kentucky have many concerns, I'm certain I can help out in many different ways.[6] | ” |
| “ | My current representative joined the Banking and Finance committee simply because those members get the highest campaign donations. My current representative has no experience of the finance industry. (It's an insult to Kentuckians.)[6] | ” |
| “ | Yes. It's important to be in touch with the will of the people and a short two year term ensures that. People just need to vote in those mid-terms because things can easily go off the rails very quickly now days.[6] | ” |
| “ | Institutional knowledge is a valuable asset. However, we loose something when representatives remain in office over the course of generations. I'd like to see limits of four terms for senators and ten terms for representatives. We need to cycle in new generations of leaders and representatives.[6] | ” |
| “ | States must continue to exercise redistricting controls. But we now live in the information age and have a responsibility to use every tool available to try as hard as possible to get districts that are as 50/50 as possible so that our representatives can accurately reflect the will of all the people.[6] | ” |
| “ | Yes I would join the leadership, if asked or sponsored. Committee chairman or some kind of whip role would probably be the highest and best use of my skill sets.[6] | ” |
| “ | Lyndon Johnson or Richard (Dick) Gephardt.[6] | ” |
| “ | Early on a young woman came to me and asked, "I'm a single mother, a long-time abuse victim, and never finished high school. I work two minimum wage jobs and still need welfare and Medicaid. What can you do to help others like me?" I was moved and immediately understood her daily (hourly) fear of having enough to eat, keeping the heat on, or having enough gas in the car to get to work on time. Hearing her question, I knew that her life mattered, her children mattered, and most importantly, her need to have hope that things will get better. I assured her that what was happening now that she is no longer compartmentalized into sub-sub-sub groups. It's not just single mothers that are being affected by the economy. It's not just minimum wage workers being affected. And it's not just abuse survivors that feel out of touch with the mainstream. We are all feeling the effects of our current do-nothing government. Yes, we can do more for those making minimum wage but we can also do more for people in entry level office jobs or small businesses or large manufacturers. The people are all suffering and being held back and our government refuses to do anything about it. We are not alone in our struggle. We are all in this together.[6] | ” |
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Daniel Kemph for Congress, "Background," accessed February 17, 2018
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Daniel Kemph," accessed February 17, 2018
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 11, 2020
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Daniel Kemph's responses," February 27, 2018
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 6.20 6.21 6.22 6.23 6.24 6.25 6.26 6.27 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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